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For most business owners, a website is absolutely crucial to company success. Today we are well and truly into the digital age, where a massive percentage of daily tasks are carried out online, from working to shopping, managing personal finances, staying healthy and keeping in touch with family and friends. The majority of people today are likely to turn to Google in the first instance when they are looking for a new product or service. Because of this, it makes sense for today’s businesses to ensure that they have a strong online presence, and this starts with the website. The right web hosting can make or break your company site, so here are some important factors you need to consider.

#1. Compatibility:

First of all, you will want to make sure that you are choosing a web hosting provider that is compatible with the platform you are using for your website. Decide whether or not you are going to opt for a hosted platform service, where you can create your website and host it in the same place, or whether you are going to be using a separate web host provider. If it’s separate, then it’s worth looking into hosting that’s designed for the platform you are using, such as Onyx which offers WordPress hosting.

#2. Customer Support:

The web hosting service that you use will be majorly responsible for the performance of your website. So, it’s important to make access to customer support a priority when you are looking for features. If your site is slow or suffers from a lot of downtime, then chances are this is most likely to be a problem at the server end. You need to be sure that if anything goes wrong, your web hosting provider is just a telephone call away to get things sorted out for you. It’s always worth paying more for hosting that offers round-the-clock support, as your website could experience problems at any time of the day or night.

#3. Price:

Whilst it may not be the most important factor to consider, and it’s always better to invest more in a quality hosting service than to simply go for the cheapest option, you will also need to ensure that you’re not going over your budget when it comes to your web hosting. You can usually find plans that are offered on a monthly or yearly basis, so don’t just think about what you can afford now – consider the future and whether or not your budget is expected to increase or decrease.

#4. Website Growth:

Your website may only be small now, but do you have big plans for it in the future? For example, if you are hoping to eventually add a lot more products to your online shop, post several high-quality photographs, write a large blog, or post numerous videos to your site, then you’ll need to make sure that your web hosting service can keep up with your growth.

These are just some of the main factors to consider when choosing a web hosting provider. If you’d like to add to the list, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.